Atlanta plan to stop Colin Kaepernick: Hit him hard

9:53 PM,
Jan. 16, 2013

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick speaks at an NFL football media availability in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. The 49ers are scheduled to face the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship game on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Written by

Lindsay H. Jones
USA TODAY Sports

Patrick Willis can imagine what all those defensive players from the Green Bay Packers must have been thinking: Dang, Colin Kaepernick is faaaaaast.

That Kaepernick is speedy shouldn't be a surprise. He ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash when he came out of the University of Nevada. But there's something different about Kaepernick's speed when it's coming at you live compared to watching it on film or even in practice.

Willis, San Francisco's middle linebacker, remembers thinking the same thing last year when Kaepernick was acting as the scout team quarterback in 49ers' practices. Back then, ...